


in between two places

by mothmanaintshit



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Artist Keith (Voltron), Childhood Friends, College Clubs, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Intensely Requited Love, Internalized Homophobia, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, M/M, Marine Biology Lance, Misgendering, POV Alternating, Rating May Change, Singing Keith (Voltron), Slow Burn, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Lance (Voltron), Trans Male Character, Trans Pidge | Katie Holt, Transphobia, broganes, internalize transphobia, main ship is klance, minor is hunay and shatt, mlm author, other ships may be added as well, tags will be added as needed, vent fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 13:56:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12434265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothmanaintshit/pseuds/mothmanaintshit
Summary: Sometimes growing up is more than just how many birthdays you’ve had or how your appearance changes over time. It’s when you grow as a person. When you learn that it’s okay to run away sometimes or learn that life isn’t easy and that that’s okay. You learn that it’s okay if you aren’t sure where you’re supposed to be yet or what you’re supposed to do.You learn that family isn’t defined by whose blood is coursing through your veins or who raised you but by who you want and allow in your life.“I— I— I didn’t ask for...this. They think it’s… it’s hard onthem?! They don’t...Fuck! Have they even thought how hard this is on me?! Have they even thought about how much… about how much turmoilI’vebeen going through?! H— how much self-hatred I’ve had?! I thought I wasdisgustingforyears! I didn’t know if I was… I didn’t know what… I didn’t—I didn’t—” Lance grasped onto the front of Keith’s shirt, pressing his face against his friend’s chest as he sobbed.“I didn’t want for this to happen, Keith… I didn’t.”





	in between two places

**Author's Note:**

> this is a rewrite/rework of [do you feel it?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8161714/chapters/18702811)   
> although this fic won't be exactly the same, some things that i uploaded and wrote out for that fic will be used in this one. i have an outline for the first 10 chapters and am expecting this story to be between 40-50 chapters. im letting you know now that this story does not have an upload schedule. im swamped this quarter. taking a day to finish this and get it up already put me a bit behind. my next break is 3 weeks at the end of december so that'll probably be when the next chapter is uploaded. i have a book of idea's that i have on my person 24/7, where im working on chapter 10-20 outline.   
> im thinking of writing this as such:  
> prologue  
> chapters 2-11 will be year one in college + part time jobs  
> chapters 12-31 will be off-campus leave + years 2 and 3 + part time jobs  
> chapters 31-45 will be on-campus/off-campus leave + internships + year 4 + part time job  
> the last couple of chapters will be graduation+epilogue and after that ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ ya'll just have to wait and see.  
> all of you who are coming here from reading the other story, thank you so so soooo much for being so considerate and patient with my situation. thank you all for the kind comments, asks and personal messages i get sent. you guys rock!!   
> (Season 5 update: Lance's siblings names are now changed to the canon names given. Logan is now Veronica and Ivan is Marco. Other sibling(s) both canon and not will appear later in the story.)

The sky was a cloudless bright baby blue with wisps of fresh crisp cool soothing air. The kind of air that fills the soul of your lungs. Hues of orange, red, and yellow leaves gently flittered around like butterfly wings on Lance’s face. As he walks, he reads the names of the college’s alumni engraved on the bricks under his worn sneakers, contemplates his future here and how incredible his life is at this very moment. The paths around him were bustling with freshmen and their families – club tents and booths being put up around the square for freshmen to browse once their families leave to university.

Lance already had his eye on the swim team’s booth – one of two main reasons his family agreed to allow him to go to Altea University was because of the full paid swimming scholarship.

“ _¡Espere!_ ”

Speaking of family…

Lance stopped walking and turned, watching his older siblings lagging behind him. His older brother, Marco, carrying three boxes and effectively blocking his vision, while his older sister, Veronica, guided him – poorly, may Lance add – towards Lance.

“You aren’t supposed to be as fast on land as you are in water, Lance.” His sister chuckled, earning her a light kick against her shin from Marco. Lance quickly seized up, turning his head left and right for his parents. Veronica placed her hand on his shoulder with a small apologetic smile, “Mama isn’t with us.”

“Think she went ahead to your dorm room.” His brother replied, voice muffled behind the thick boxes. “Wanted to make sure everything was in order, I guess.”

“Let’s get going then—”

“Papa’s with her too.”

“Ah, man!” Lance’s voice cracked under his breath, letting his head fall back as his shoulders sagged. “I thought he was staying at the hotel?!”

“Plans change.” Veronica answered as her ringtone chimed from her pocket. She pulled her phone out and sighed, “Speak of the Devil— _¡Hola, papa!_ ” Lance moved toward his brother as his sister spoke to their father, taking the top box from his arms and letting him regain his vision. Marco sighed in relief, both from having his sight back and a lighter weight in his arms.

“ _Sí, sí, sí_. We’re walking in the square now— Yeah, I’m sure she’s spotted the swim team’s booth by now.” Veronica spared a glance towards Lance, who shifted on his feet and stared down at the box in his arms like he hadn't just hear her. “Uh-huh… Yeah, see you two soon. Bye.”

Veronica took a deep breath after ending the call, staring down at her phone.

“Let’s… let’s just get this over with.” Lance mumbled, starting towards the dorms. Veronica and Marco shared a pained expression before trailing after their brother. Veronica took the other box from Marco, each sibling carrying one box as they made their way out of the bustling college square. The older siblings walked a few steps slower than Lance, keeping a watchful eye on him while also giving him the chance to ready himself for seeing his parents again.

During the three-month break between high school and college, Lance had spent the summer with his siblings. Mostly because he just needed to get away from the small town that is his own personal hell but also because he needed someone on his side. He knew his parents weren’t accepting of anyone who wasn’t “normal” by society’s standards; but his siblings? He’s seen their Instagram pics, even stumbled upon his sister’s Tumblr – by complete and utter accident – and came across something that made him cry with relief. He knew that even if his brother wasn’t okay with him, his sister would be.

So, he made it his mission during the few months he spent with them to tell them at some point... what he hadn’t realized is that his siblings knew him better than himself at times. They could tell from the moment they picked him up at the airport that something was on his mind. He came out to them once they arrived at his sister’s house. It was an emotional day for the three of them. His siblings asked for his pronouns, if he’d decided on a name or still experimenting – and they ended up doing just that all summer –, if their parents knew and if they didn’t know how he wanted to handle it.

It was a nice summer. A much-needed summer. It would have been totally awesome if he could have gotten his hair cut during the summer too but him and his siblings came up with a plan for that later this week after their parents left back for home. For now, he had it tied up and hidden under his overused, faded black NASA beanie. A few stray curls stuck out from under the beanie and framed his face and tickling the nape of his neck but he thought it looked cute. The only issue that he couldn’t cover up today was his chest but the baggy clothes he had on covered it well enough and the box he was holding hid his chest even better.

Lance’s attention was caught by a couple of loud students exiting the on-campus coffee shop that sat between the dorms and main building. As he took a better look at the four students, he noted that the taller two looked a bit old to be new students. Perhaps family of the two shorter adults trailing behind them or professors? Maybe even older students.

The tallest man looked to be the most fit in the small group, the size of at least three Lance’s. He couldn’t tell if it was because of the three sweaters the man seemed to wear or if that was how buff he actually was – which was impressive, extremely intimidating and made Lance wonder if he’d be able to look that way one day. The man’s hair was pulled back into a messy bun, a long patch of stark white hair stood out against the dark brown of his natural hair color. A thick scar cut across his nose, another cut near the end of his thick right brow. He had a square face and dark eyes that crinkled at the edges when he laughed with the others.

The second tallest of the group had shoulder length, messy copper hair that stuck out from under a thick purple beanie. Pale amber eyes were hidden behind thick rim circle glasses perched on the bridge of his nose shifting lower with every step he took. Diamond face, pale skin that tinted pink as the cooling air touched his face and a lanky yet well-built body.

The youngest and shortest of the group looked like a mini replica of the copper haired man. Lance assumed they were siblings from his own experience with his own familial traits. The only notable differences were the shorter height, smaller build, longer hair and lack of thick rimmed glasses. Maybe also the major bags under her eyes. She looked beyond tired yet extremely aware of her surroundings, even with bright green headphones blocking out the sounds around her.

The last person of the group walked next to the girl and behind the two older mean, nearly hidden behind the larger one. He seemed to close into himself, trying not to bump into anyone. One hand shoved into his jacket pocket as the other held his phone in front of him, messenger bag with colorful pins and retro iron on patches slung over a shoulder and laid across his torso. One earphone hanging over his dog tag necklace while the other was in his ear, hidden under a mop of shoulder length unruly black hair. He stared down at the phone worrying his bottom lip as his thumb slid across the screen. Silhouettes of birds were tattooed on the left side of his neck, disappearing underneath his shirt and hair. He hummed when the buff man looked over his shoulder, probably making a comment or to check if he was even still with the group. The man tucked his phone back in his pocket and stuck his tongue out after the man turned back around. The girl next to him snickered and nudged him with her elbow. His lips twitched into a small smile as he tugged lightly on the girl’s side-ponytail. The shift of his lips caused light to shine against his silver spider bite piercings.

It reminded Lance a little of how his brother and sister used to act when they were younger—

“I swear to _God_ , Marco, if you keep kicking me whenever you see a hot girl I _will_ stab you.”

—and even now, at the ages of twenty-seven and twenty-nine. Such adults. He’s so proud of them.

Lance slowed down, almost to a stop, as the group turned down their path and started towards them. He could hear pieces of their conversation, mostly about student orientation on Saturday and the dorms, as they grew closer. Lance was also able to get a better look at the boy with the messenger bag who also seemed to catch his eye as they crossed paths.

And that’s when Lance stopped walking, completely unaware of the siblings who weren’t paying attention to their surroundings anymore since they were invested in bickering about the women on campus and who were about to collide into him; but at least he wasn’t the only one who stopped. The two men stared at each other. Lance couldn’t help but smile towards him, one that was a bit too big and goofy but it was caused the man’s eyes to go wide and a flush to form that started from the tip of his nose and ended on the tips of his ears.

It was adorable.

He was adorable.

And the moment was quickly ruined by his siblings.

He crashed to the floor, his brother falling atop him while his sister caught herself before plummeting to the concrete walkway.

“Ugh… _Cabron_.” Lance groaned as his brother flipped off him.

“That is no way to speak to your big brother.” Marco replied, winded.

Lance pushed himself up, sitting back on the balls of his feet and looking back to where the earphone guy once stood. He looked down the pathway to see him hurriedly making his way to the girl, shoulders hunched up. The girl’s face was pure mischief, commenting something when he reached her which only made him walk away faster with his shoulders raised even higher and head dipped down further. His reaction left her laughing while looking over at Lance before running to catch up with her friend. Lance frowned and looked down at the nearly crushed box of clothing he was carrying. A few shirts fell out but thankfully nothing else.

“He was totally checking you out, bro.” Veronica commented from where she stood to his side, box still in her hands. Her eyes stuck on the retreating form of the man who made her brother weak in the knees. “He’s also _realllllly_ cute. I approve.”

Lance groaned, letting his legs fan out from under himself and falling back against the concrete in a starfish position.

(=´ᆺ｀=) (=´ᆺ｀=) (=´ᆺ｀=) (=´ᆺ｀=)

Lance was immediately engulfed in his mother’s arms when he walked through his dorm room door. The box in his arms only crushed further until he let it fall to the ground to hug his mother back.

“We miss you at home, Xandria.” His mother, Quinn, only held him tighter when he tried to let go. “The twins keep asking when you’ll be back.”

“I miss them too, mama. You and papa too.” Lance forced a smile as he extracted himself from his mother’s arms and looked for his father in the medium sized room, eyes skirting over his roommate’s objects on the other bed pressed against the left wall. A few of her items were already scattered on her side of the room. A few glow in the dark stars were sticking on the ceiling above her bed, a periodic table poster with personally written notes on the sides was tacked above her personal desk. Some band posters sat on her bed, Funko Pop! Vinyl figures that were still in their boxes sat on her dresser and a large Trans Pride flag hung on the wall her bed was pressed against.

Lance tried not to show his reaction and forced himself to look away before his mother could catch what he was looking at, “Where is he?”

“He went to find a restroom a few minutes ago. Should be back soon.” Quinn then turned to her other kids who were setting down their boxes on the remaining area bed. A few boxes already sat on the bed from what his parents brought him from home. He couldn’t imagine what was in all those boxes – he didn’t own a lot of clothes, or at least not enough to fill ten boxes. Many of his clothes he brought with him when he came for the summer. His mother pulled his other siblings in for a long mom hug as he went to investigate the them. One was filled with leftover clothes, mostly his least favorite sweatpants and too tight sleeping shirts, old socks, winter gloves, random knickknacks that once sat on his dresser. A few others held all his swimming trophies – which he was going to have to either send back with his parents or have his sister hold for him at her house – swimsuits that he’ll have to replace, his old pair of goggles, old swim cap and even a newer pair of goggles and swim cap that his parents must have bought for him. The next box, which was much bigger than the others, was filled with different style sheets for his bed, all new pillows and even a body pillow. He really liked the new alien-themed bed set that was at the bottom of the box.

Ah, he loves his mom.

He moved onto the next box and nearly choked on his own spit. His mother bought more than he thought…

“Uh… mama?" He cleared his throat, "Wh— what is all this?”

His mother beamed at him when he turned to her. His siblings glanced at each other before walking over and looking at the contents of the box. Their reactions thankfully went unnoticed as Quinn spoke.

“I thought you could use a new wardrobe!” He hated how happy she looked as she walked over and pulled out clothes that would fit too tight and ruin his fresh start here. Starting out in the women’s dorms was hard enough.

“What’s wrong with the clothes she has now?” Veronica spoke up, frowning at the articles of clothing she began pulling out. “Mama, these clothes aren’t anything like her. They’re bright and… they stand out. I wouldn’t even wear these.”

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate that you went out of your way and bought me all these… amazing clothes.” Lance quickly supplied before turning back to the box to try and hide his grimace. “But these clothes just… aren’t me. I want to start here being me, mama. I like the clothes I have now, I’m _comfortable_ in the clothes I have now.”

Quinn pursed her lips, looking between her child and the tank top in her hands. “I… can see your point, dear. I thought that since you’re finally able to wear what you want instead of the school uniform, you’d want something more… showy. You never seemed comfortable in the school uniform.”

“That’s because they made the girls wear skirt, mama.” Lance chuckled, smiling at his mom. “When have you ever seen me willing wear something that doesn’t have pant legs?”

She giggled as well, dropping the top back in the box and draping her arm over his shoulder. She pressed a kiss over his beanie, “True enough. You have your credit card, just call or text us when you’re about to buy something.”

“Always do.” Lance moved back to the box and shut it once Veronica threw the items back in. There was some screaming from the hall, soon after a few girls came running past his door in a fit of laughter and screams. Both his siblings cringed, his brother even going as far as covering his ears.

“I do not remember college being this loud.” Veronica muttered next to him.

“Neither do it.” Marco mumbled back, moving some boxes out of the way to be able to sit on the bed. Their father, Raúl, soon appeared at the door. A frown plastered on his thin lips as he pinched the bridge of his nose; something he did often when a headache was starting. As much as Lance didn’t want his parents to suffer, this was a blessing in disguise.

“Hey, papa.” Veronica moved over to her father and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “It’s been a while.”

“It has.” He grumped, putting his glasses back on and looking over towards Lance and Marco. Marco gave the man a lazy two-fingered salute before leaning back on the back.

“Hey, papa.” Lance smiled, unconsciously rubbing the back of his neck nervously while his other hand tucked into his pocket.

Raúl cracked a smile, moving across the room to his child and pulling him into a bone crushing hug. “How’ve you been kiddo? Did you enjoy the summer here?”

Lance slowly melted into the hug, wrapping his arms around his father as he commented back, “I’ve been good. Loving the weather so far, great for the beach… or at least it was during the summer. Starting to get too cold now.”

His father let him go with a chuckle, “That never stopped you in Florida.”

Lance smiled with a nod, “True enough.”

“Do you have your schedule yet, darling?” Quinn asked, picking up a box and heading over to the plain, laminate dresser that stood against the wall at the end of his bed.

“Nah, not yet.” Lance shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and shrugged, “We get them after orientation on Saturday.”

“And when’s Hunk arriving?” Raúl asked, looking towards his roommate’s things. Veronica moved some more boxes off the bed, pushing Marco over to make some more room for herself to lay down. Marco let out a wheeze as he was smushed against the hard wall. Lance snorted and rolled his eyes fondly.

“He’s arriving either tomorrow or Friday. I just know he’ll be here before orientation. Signal was spotty when we last spoke on the phone. He said he’ll text me when he arrives though – we’re gonna spend one last night together as free adults with no responsibilities before class starts.” Lance smiled, pulling his hands out of his pockets to clasp together and rest behind his head. “I’m excited.”

“I hope not _too_ excited.” Quinn looked over her shoulder with a questionable gaze. “This night will be supervised, yes?”

“Ugh, _ma_.” Lance’s arms fell as he sagged forward, “Hunk is my brother from another mother. I don’t see him like that! Besides, you remember Shay, right? She’s starting here mid-quarter and Hunk told me he’s finally gonna ask her out! They are so perfect and cute together – I could never get in the way of their love.”

“They aren’t even together yet and you’re calling it love?” Marco chuckled from his spot on the cramped bed.

“Some people just know.” Veronica said with a shrug before directing her gaze towards Lance with a knowing smirk. “They just look at a person and feel a _connection_. The world just fades away, their face heats up or they get this dopey, love-struck look. For a second they feel like all their problems just disappear… and then you crash to the floor as your brother ruins the moment.”

“I sense a story.” His mother sang, picking up on his sisters hidden meaning immediately as she closed the drawer with her hip. Veronica brightened immediately, quickly scrambling to the edge of the bed and retelling the story of how Lance fell on his face in front of this “totally-hot-hipster-emo-dude” that walked out of the on-campus coffee shop. Lance busied himself with putting away his personal items, quickly hiding his used and worn-down binder under all the underwear and socks he piled together in the small drawer.

He frowned as he felt the worn material. He’d have to get a new one soon.

Lance continued putting his things away, idling listening to his siblings talk to their parents about their summer – surfing, hiking, road trips with no destination – adding his own two cents to the conversation when needed. All in all, it wasn’t as bad as Lance thought it would be. Two hours after he stuffed away all his crap and made sure his laptop screen didn’t get another crack, he and his family headed out. His parents left for their hotel, making a promise to get lunch tomorrow before their flight back home that night. His siblings stayed with him for a while longer. But first they quickly headed back to Lance’s dorm room so he could put on his binder before they went back to the square to browse the booths of the college’s clubs and sport teams. Lance was 98% positive his siblings, mostly Veronica, stuck around just to see if they could find “totally-hot-hipster-emo-dude” but Lance was able to steer clear of his siblings teasing by pointing over towards the swim team’s tent that had been completed.

But, alas, luck was not in his favor.

As he spoke to some of the team’s current members the buff man who he saw earlier appeared accompanied by, you guessed it, “totally-hot-hipster-emo-dude”. He could already feel his sister’s gaze on the back of his head and could picture her mischievous, smug smile.

“Hey, the name’s Lance.” Lance spoke once the man was only a few feet away and he was sure the man’s attention was on himself. “And your name, handsome?”

The man, who seemed a bit tenser since Lance last saw him, looked towards him, almost confused. He actually looked around him to see if Lance could have spoken to anyone else, even went as far to do a full circle because his hood cut off part of his vision, before looked back at Lance with tinted cheeks and furrowed brows. Lance’s smile softened a little, taking note that the man’s shoulders relaxed while he looked around, yet his continued silence made Lance fidget. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets to tap his fingers rhythmically against his stomach, keeping himself from overthinking the silence.

He tried to take his eyes off his man but it was hard – something about him just made Lance _want_ to look. He couldn’t decide if it was because he looked so perfect in a warm fall setting or if it was because his intense eyes just seemed to pull Lance in.

After what seemed like forever, the young adult tilted his head down and away, hiding his face under his hair and hood, and replied with a quiet yet audible ‘hey’ before moving closer towards the man he walked over with. While he shuffled over, Lance caught sight of a smile bigger than the one he saw earlier today.

“You’re signing up for this season…” the buff man – who Lance now assumed was the coach, Takashi Shirogane – bent over slightly, pressing his hand against the table to read the names of who’s signed up thus far, “Lance… McClain? Oh! Lance!” The coach turned to him with one of the brightest and open smiles Lance had seen since arriving on campus.

Lance couldn’t help returning the smile, shaking the man’s hand once offered. Lance had called his coach last week once he was back to having cell service and spoke to him about the situation. He probably should have done it at the beginning of summer, before he went off the grid with his siblings, but he didn’t want to chance of the coach being a transphobic asshole to ruin his summer.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you.” Shiro let go of his hand, taking a step back to look at his siblings standing way too close behind him. “And this is your family?”

“Uhm—” He quickly cleared his throat before motioning to his siblings, “y—yeah. This is my brother, Marco, and sister, Veronica. They’re were helping me move my stuff into the dorms.”

Shiro shook their hands with the same smile he greeted Lance with, asking how their drive here was and if they liked the university so far.

“I live nearby and I’ve never been a fan of AU, GG gal all the way,” Veronica shrugged a shoulder with a smile before she side-eyed “totally-hot-hipster-emo-dude”, _which Lance did not miss_ , “but I gotta say… this might be a good fit for my baby bro.”

“I second that.” Marco chuckled, throwing his arm over Lance’s shoulder. “He’s gonna have a _lotta_ fun here.”

“You two are the worst.” Lance mumbled, hanging his head. Someone cleared their throat next to Shiro, getting the large man’s attention. All eyes were sudden on the cause for Lance’s teasing.

“I’m... just gonna head back, Shiro. I think I’ve already seen—”

“Keith.” Shiro crossed his arms with a slight frown, narrowing his eyes at the younger man – _Keith_ – whose nose scrunched up, brows furrowed and bottom lip stuck out in a pout. Lance found it kind of adorable.

“Come on, we’ve talked about this.” Shiro continued, taking a step forward and placing a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “You’ve barely socialized the past couple of months.”

“I think I’ll be ‘socializing’ enough this semester with the number of clubs you forced me to sign up for.” Keith crossed his arms and turned his head away, a pout on his lips.

“Keith—”

“ _Actually_ ,” Veronica quickly moved in front of Lance and closer to Shiro and Keith, “I seemed to have miscalculated how long my brother and I were able to stay. We were going to show our baby bro around the campus but since we gotta go… _You_ wouldn’t happen to know of anyone who’d be able to show him around, would you?”

Lance stared at the back of Veronica's head with wide eyes, mouth agape in shock.

Does his sister have _no_ chill?

“Hm.” Shiro tucked his prosthetic arm between his torso and elbow, his free hand coming up to capture his chin between his forefinger and thumb in thought. Lance could see the twitch in Shiro’s lips as he played along.

 _No older sibling as chill_ , he realized, his eyes shifting between Shiro and Veronica.

“ _Baby bro_ ,” Shiro’s gaze flickered over to Keith, who seemed to puff up the second Shiro addressed him as such, trying hard not to smile, “you wouldn’t mind showing Lance around, would you?”

Lance, who had been successfully avoiding Keith’s gaze after the awkward yet endearing introductions, couldn’t look anywhere else but at Keith – waiting for a reaction, a rejection, him to say he had better things to do, better people to be hanging around with.

Keith raised a brow at his older brother who just crossed his arms with a closed lipped smile. He glanced over at Veronica and Marco before locking eyes with Lance.

Keith sighed and took a step forward, “Lance, right?”

He nodded, balling his fists in his pockets.

“I think I’ve had enough of older siblings,” he worried his lip, tilting his head slightly toward the people in question, “how about you?”

“Oh, dear God, yes.” Lance gave Keith a crooked grin. “Please, take me somewhere older siblings have no authority over us.”

Keith shyly smiled back and motioned with his head for Lance to follow.

“Try not to get into trouble before you even start here.” Shiro aimed the comment towards Keith, who just rolled his eyes in response.

“Have fun, you two.” Marco waved with a smug smirk.

“Play nice! And no biting, Lance! We’ve talked about that.” Veronica snickered as Lance flushed and made a hasty retreat with Keith.

(=´ᆺ｀=) (=´ᆺ｀=) (=´ᆺ｀=) (=´ᆺ｀=)

Keith had mentioned that he was going to head over to the shopping plaza across the street of the west side of campus, where the Galra Fine Arts building stood, once he was able to get away from Shiro. He was going to buy some supplies he still needed while meeting the woman he was walking with earlier, Katie Holt. The name sounded familiar but Lance couldn’t remember where he’d heard it before.

“You don’t have to come though.” Keith mumbled as the duo left the main quad, looking down at his hands as he fiddled with some of the cheap rings on his fingers. “I know that I was an easy escape from your siblings.”

“Yeah, you were definitely an easy escape.” Lance agreed with a hum. Keith immediately shoved his hands in his pockets and dipped his head down. “But, maybe – and _just_ maybe… I wanted to find a reason to hang out with you after I saw you this morning.”

“O— oh.”

 “And besides,” Lance gave Keith a toothy grin and lightly pushed his shoulder against his, “us younger siblings need to stick together! Never know when we’ll need backup when our older siblings start to gang up on us.”

“So, you’re using me for backup, huh?” Keith cracked a smile at that, cheeks lightly flushing.

Lance pressed a hand against his chest and gasped in fake insult. “I would _never_ , Keith.”

Keith hunched his shoulders and dipped his head to hid his smile while Lance shoved his hands back in his pockets, satisfied with himself. Lance stared at Keith as they neared the main road that lead to the Plaza, enjoying his company while appreciating having someone here with him. He was worried he’d be alone until Hunk arrived. He has a roommate but she probably already made friends and would be hanging out with them or just doing her own thing or just didn’t want to be bothered. He wouldn’t want to annoy his roommate the first day they live together.

Lance looked ahead with a slight frown.

He already had a good feeling about his roommate being okay with him being trans but what if they weren’t okay living with a trans man?

“Jokes aside,” Keith started, looking over at Lance, “I know what you mean. Katie is also a member of the ‘Younger Siblings’ club.”

“The side ponytail was cute.” Lance chuckled. “I haven’t seen one of those in ages. I like her style.”

Keith hummed with a smile, “Yeah. She’s my best friend.”

“It’s awesome being able to go to the same college as our best friends. Hunk, my bestie, is attending too but he's not arriving until later this week.”

“It’s…” Keith kicked a rock off the brick walkway, licking his lips. “ _Nice_ not be alone in a new place.”

Lance hummed with a nod, “I agree. I was terrified about coming here before I heard Hunk got accepted too. Made the move a lot easier.”

“You, uh…” Keith met Lance’s gaze before quickly averting his eyes, watching as they got closer to the main road. “You far? From your home?”

“Yes and no.” Lance pursed his lips as he looked up at the sky. “It’s, uh…”

“Complicated?” Keith supplied, pushing off his hood and running a hand through his hair. Lance side eyed Keith, watching as his face contorted in pain as he tried to comb through a knot in his hair. Although his bangs blocked out most of his eyes from Lance’s view, he could tell from the way he spoke that he probably had a similar problem while growing up.

“Yeah.” Lance spoke as they reached the crosswalk. He pressed the placebo button before shoving his hand back in his pocket. “… _Complicated_.”

(=´ᆺ｀=) (=´ᆺ｀=) (=´ᆺ｀=) (=´ᆺ｀=)

Once meeting Katie, Lance knew that they’d get along well. Katie was fun and adventurous, blunt and extremely curious. She loved to tease Keith, causing him to blush and even quickly walk off twice with a red face. They seemed really comfortable with each other. Lance assumed that they must have grown up together to have such a close, teasing relationship like himself and Hunk. They acted like they themselves were siblings. Lance could tell how much more relaxed and unguarded he was around Katie. He’d clam back up when he looked over at Lance but he couldn’t blame him. Keith was a shy and guarded person. Being around someone new, even if you’re already around someone who you’re comfortable with, you tend to reel your emotions back.

Or, at least, that’s what Lance used to do.

The trio started to head out of the plaza as the sun set. Keith and Katie with bags full of supplies, snacks and a few energy drinks. Katie immediately cracked open a Monster Java and chugged half of it before Lance even realized she pulled it out of the bag.

Katie sucked in a deep breath before letting it out, shoulders sagging with relief as the energized drink made its way down to her stomach. “God, I needed that.”

Keith snorted between the two as he adjusted the bags on his arms. Keith seemed to be an artist, probably will pick an art major once the time came. He bought tubes of acrylic paint, paintbrushes, a bundle of small canvases and even more stuff Lance didn’t even know the names of.

“I don’t mind carrying some, Keith.” Lance held out his hand, “You’re holding at least 6 pounds of paint alone, never mind all the other artsy stuff you got.”

Keith looked between his bags and Lance with a raised brow. “You don’t mind?”

“Wouldn’t offer if I did.” Lance smiled, wiggling his fingers at him. “Hand over the goods, Mullet.”

Katie choked on her drink at the nickname, quickly covering her mouth to keep from any of the drink spilling out. Her eyes shinned as she looked between the two men, smile hidden behind her hand. Keith stared at Lance, brows now furrowed, and a defensive, almost annoyed expression twisting his features.

“Mullet?” He questioned. He handed Lance the bags on his left arm before running the hand through his hair. “I don’t have a mullet.”

He sounded almost defensive.

“You do.” Lance divided the bags to hold in each hand. Katie hummed, tilting her head from side to side as she squinted hard at Keith. He looked at her with a raised brow, unconsciously awaiting her answer.

“Welllll, I mean…” Katie shrugged a shoulder with a cringe-like smile. “You kinda _do_ —”

“ _Katieeeeee_!” Keith pouted and quickly pulled his hood up, pulling it down to his nose and groaning loudly as the other two laughed.

“Ah, buddy. Don’t pout.” Lance stifled his giggles behind his hand. “Although the haircut is way outdated, it suits you.”

Keith’s cheeks flared up from under his hood and Katie snickered.

“Aw, Keith. You get your first compliment.” Katie nudged Keith’s side with a smile, laughing more when Keith hurried ahead towards the crosswalk. She called after him, voice dripping with amusement, “You could at least give one back!”

Keith insistently pressed the placebo button as the other two were still catching up. Katie grabbed Lance’s jacket arm, pulling him back to walk a bit slower.

“Now that he’s gone,” she spoke lowly and leaned closer to him, making sure the conversation stayed between them, “I’m your roommate. I saw you with your family while you were still unpacking. I just want to make sure that I’m getting your name and pronouns correctly while also making sure not to fuck up in front of people who don’t know.”

“…Oh, um.” Lance mumbled, shifting awkwardly while looking down at the cracked sidewalk. “Name’s Lance. Masculine pronouns – he, him, his. Uh… I’m not out to my parents but I also don’t really want… anyone knowing yet. Besides my older siblings, only you and my swimming coach knows my, uhm… ‘situation’. I’m not sure I want anyone else to know yet.”

Katie was staring at Keith but nodded in understanding. “Alright, cool. I’m glad to have you as a roommate, Lance. If you need anything, need me to cover for you or whatever. Just let me know.”

Lance blinked down at her, astounded. “So… you’re okay with rooming with me?”

 “Why wouldn’t I be?” Katie smiled up at him, “You seem cool and you get along with Keith – which isn’t easy for some people.”

Lance’s expression softened, his lips curling into a small smile. “Thank you, Katie.”

She shrugged, smile growing as she looked forward once again. “I understand needing to have a safe space when dealing with this _wonderful_ thing called life.”

Lance furrowed his brows, confused, before they shot up. “The pride flag.”

“Yup. I may not be a dude, but I can help to a degree.” They reached Keith just as the light turned in their favor. Keith immediately shot off, not wanting to get teased more by Katie. She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile. “So, just let me know what you need, Lance. I’ll help as best as I can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: [vanguardpaladinkeith](http://vanguardpaladinkeith.tumblr.com/)


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